Mikey Network News
PHILIPS WALKING CLUB
Meet the new MIKEY WALKING CLUB members at Philips who walk 30 minutes two times a week while raising money for our great cause. You can join us by creating your own team or group. Click on to this link to get all the details on how to get started,
A TOAST TO MIKEY AT TIM'S
NEW Dreamhomes & CONDOMINIUMS
February 4-February 17, 2009
The Mikey Network recently donated six Mikey defibrillators to Tim Horton Camps in Canada and the United States through the Tim Horton Children's Foundation (THCF) which provides encouragement, a postive environment, ... read more...
08 A Heartfelt Year For the Mikey
NEW HOMES GTA Edition
Jan 26 - Feb 9, 2009
For The Mikey Network the year 2008 was stellar with an ever-expanding roster of community partners and volunteers pitching in to help promote heart-healthy living and place public-access defibrillators called MIKEYS...
read more
GTA chiropractic societies team up to make a difference
OCA News
October, 2008
The North York and York-Peel Chiropractic Societies combined forces this summer to host the second annual Chiropractic Community Blue Jays Day. Through the societies' combined efforts, the event drew a considerable crowd - and raised funds to support a worthy local charity...
read more
Beyond the Bricks
TORONTO STAR
October 4, 2008
Known for his boundless energy and enthusiasm - not to mention a mischievous sense of humour - Heron has worked tirelessly to build a positive reputation...
Mikey on the GO
Newhomes and Condos
November 3 - 17, 2008
GO Transit, in partnership with The Mikey Network and the Toronto EMS Cardiac Safe City program, is installing public-access defibrilllators, called MIKEYs, on GO Trains and at station...
News Release - 'Go Trains to be equipped with defibrillators'
By Iain Marlow, The Star
October 21, 2008
Public access defibrillators are to be installed on GO Trains and several stations across the GTA, transit officials said this morning...
News Release - 'Transit hubs to install defibrillators'
By Iain Marlow, The Star
October 22, 2008
In Union Station's cavernous upper hall, the small blue machine sputtered to life: "Begin by removing all clothing from the patient's chest," it said in a detached, robotic voice...
read more
Download News Clipping
News Release - 'MIKEY on the GO - defibrillators on GO trains and at stations will help save lives'
globeinvestor.com
October 21, 2008
TORONTO, Oct. 21, 2008 /CNW/ - GO Transit, in partnership with The Mikey Network and the Toronto EMS Cardiac Safe City program, is installing public-access defibrillators, called MIKEYs, on GO Trains and at stations. About 100 MIKEY defibrillators will be available across GO Transit's extensive network...
MIKEY in The News
NEW DREAMHOME & CONDOMINIUMS
OCT 15-28, 2008 Volume 5 Issue 18
MIKEY GOLF TOURNAMENT RAISE OVER $170,000
Thanks to the generosity of the Corporate Sponsors, 100 per cent of the proceeds of the 300 golfers and 400 gala dinner attendees at the Richmond Hill Golf & Country Club directly to...
GTA NEW HOMES
OCT 6-20, 2008 Volume 16 Issue 20
MIKEY GOLF TOURNMENT RAISES OVER $170,000
Mikey and Toronto EMS, and as a result, there is now a Mikey in every Toronto public high school.
Currently, the network is working with Halton Public and Separate Boards to help protect the kids of today...
TORONTO STAR -Home & Condos
OCT 4, 2008
LIFESAVERS, IN MEMORY OF MIKE
Hugh Heron, Chairman of The Mikey Network
Mike Salem loved to golf.
In the summer of 2002, Salem, a partner in Heathwood Homes and the Heron Group of Companies, set out on one of Muskoka's most beautiful courses, Bigwin Island Golf Club. He never returned.
He hit his first shot, drove up to his second and suffered a fatal heart attack on the spot.
Salem, in his early 50s, died doing what he loved most, but his name lives on, thanks to his friend and former partner, Hugh Heron. Heron established the Mikey Network, an organization that buys and promotes the use and placement of lifesaving defibrillators, in Salem's honour.
"No one knows whether a defibrillator could have helped to save Mike's life, but in his name, we place Mikey's in as many public places as possible so that other cardiac arrest victims may have a second chance", Heron says.
Salem was known for his compassion and consideration for family, friends and colleagues, so it seemed only fitting that they establish the Mikey Network in memory of him, Heron says.
IIn the first year of its existence, the Mikey Network received $50,000 in donations - most of them at a golf tournament.
Since the, with the help of dedicated volunteers and community partners the Mikey Network has grown and as of this year, has placed more than 400 units - worth more than $1 million - in public places such as golf courses.
"There have been eight documented saves so far,' Heron says. 'And I get to meet people who would have othrwise been dead. How good is that?'.
Toronto Police Services Chief Bill Blair has been the recipient of 56 Mikeys, which have been placed in police stations and holding cells. Another 120 have been placed in the Toronto District School Board's secondary schools.
As well, the Mikey Kids program was recently launched through the Hospital for Sick Children, which gives Mikeys to families whose children have serious heart conditions so they and their families can leave the hospital knowing a Mikey is at hand.
A public access defibrillator increases a cardiac arrest victim's chance of survival by up to 50 percent. Made by Philips, Mikeys are about the size of a laptop computer and administer an electrical charge through two soft pads attached to a person's chest.
For more information or to make contributions, go to mikeynetwork.com
TORONTO SUN
OCT 3-5, 2008
GOLFERS SHOW THEIR HEART FOR MIKEY NETWORK
This year's Mikey Network golf tournament raised more than $170,000 to teach people about heart-healthy living and to assist cardiac-arrest patients. ...
TORONTO STAR -Home & Condos
OCT 2, 2008
BEYOND THE BRICKS
And the beat goes on
...Secret to developer's success turns out to be no secret at all:
Perseverance, hard work and 'a 100 per cent positive' attitude...
News Release - 'Saved by that MIKEY Miracle'
By Kevin Connor, Sun Media
July 10, 2008
Daniel Terbenche can't help but think how access to a defibrillator could have saved his father's life the way one saved him after a recent cardiac arrest.
The 63-year-old Terbenche was exercising in January at Variety Village in the east end of the city when he suffered the attack. Luckily it was recognized for what it was by staff at the facility. "I don't remember any distress or breathing problems. The need for defibrillators is quite obvious," Terbenche said yesterday at Variety Village.
His father suffered a cardiac arrest in 1969 and, with no defibrillators, it took more than six minutes to revive him, a delay that left him brain damaged. He spent the last eight years of his life in a hospital bed.
"If you cater to the public and you don't have a defibrillator you are putting people at the same risk as my dad," he said. "I feel great. The difference between having a defibrillator available or not is the difference between me and my father." Lynne Wallace -- president of Variety, the children's charity -- says she couldn't be more proud of her staff and their response to Terbenche's emergency.
'LIVING PROOF'
"Their training and diligence helped to save Mr. Terbenche's life, but we also owe a debt of gratitude to The Mikey Network for providing Variety Village with defibrillators," Wallace said. The network is a charitable organization boosting public awareness and providing access defibrillators to high-risk places like Variety for a timely response to saving lives before paramedics arrive.
"The Mikey Network works because our efforts are guided by ongoing inspiration left by Mike Salem, our Heathwood Homes and Heron group partner and friend who died of sudden cardiac arrest on a golf course," said Hugh Heron, chairman of the Mikey group.
"And for living proof that The Mikey Network really works, Daniel Terbenche is here at Variety Village, with the four responders who helped save his life using a Mikey."
One of the responders, Shane Risto, says he was honoured to help.
"I feel good I was able to receive the training and give some help," said Risto.
Toronto's Emergency Medical Services manages more than 500 public-access defibrillators. "The program is picking up because private companies are getting involved," said EMS spokesman Lyla Miller.
EMS Chief Bruce Farr says more people will be saved by difibrillators.
*To view more MIKEY in the news select links below...
http://www.canada.com/globaltv/ontario/video/index.html
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_24607.aspx
MIKEY Walking Club
THE HERON GROUP head office staff have joined the Mikey Walking club and walk together at lunch for 30 minutes every Monday and Thursday.
Two Men and a Truck Partners with the MIKEY Network to Save Lives
Two Men and a Truck® Canada has partnered with The Mikey Network to place public-access defibrillators called MIKEYs in high-risk locations. The international moving company pledged to donate a percentage of each of its Canadian moves annually, and recently presented a cheque representing the past year to help in the Network’s goal of saving lives. The shock from a MIKEY can increase a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) victim’s chance at living if it is used within the first critical moments following the incident, even before emergency personnel arrive. A trained “target responder” using a MIKEY can improve survival rates by up to 50 per cent.
Community service is at the heart of the corporate philosophy of Two Men and a Truck, which began in the early 1980s as a way for two brothers to make extra money while they were in high school. The company has been in business for 21 years and currently operates in the United States, Canada and Ireland, with 190 locations, 1,300 moving trucks, and a customer satisfaction rate of 94 per cent. Owned and operated by local families, the firm offers an array of moving services that includes packing, loading and unloading, and has earned a reputation for highly personalized service. The company can be hired to move one appliance or an entire office building.
Giving back to the greater community is also important to Heathwood Homes and The Heron Group - a leading residential developer in the GTA for nearly 30 years. Heathwood and Heron founded The Mikey Network in 2003 to honour a partner who died on a golf course after experiencing SCA. Each year in Ontario, more than 6,500 people experience SCA, which can strike without warning. Over 10 per cent of these cardiac arrests occur in public places. The use of a defibrillator is the only definitive treatment. The Mikey Network has raised over $1 million and has committed to placing MIKEYS across Ontario in such places as schools, gyms, community centres, pools, libraries, municipal offices and hockey arenas.
For more information on Two Men and a Truck, visit www.twomenandatruck.ca.
'The Communications Group Inc.', a company that keeps on giving...
The Mikey Network is honoured to be the favourite charity of The Communications Group Inc. Recently, they made a very generous donation to “Mikey” on behalf of all their business partners & clients and sent this beautiful card to acknowledge their donation. It’s because of companies like The Communications Group Inc. and their dedicated staff that “THE BEAT GOES ON.”
News Release - 'New Homes', p.66-67
Home Builder, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist - Hugh Heron, Honoured at Celtic Ceilidh
February 25, 2008
Toronto's EMS provided the Honour Guard |
MHC's President Karen Kinsley and Board Chairman Dino Chiasa |
BILD Past President and Hugh's partner, Bob Finnigan, with Nicky Finnigan |
Committe Co-Chairs (left to right) Alan Heron (Alan Heron Homes), Dr. Alvin Curling and Peter Smith (Andrin Homes) |
On Wednesday, February 6, nearly 900 builders, politicians and celebrities, family and friends gathered at Toronto's Fairmont Royal York Hotel to celebrate the accomplishments of Ontario home builder and philanthropist Hugh Heron. Heron is a principal and partner in the Heron Group of Companies and President of Heathwood Homes in Toronto. To honour his Scottish roots, the event was themed as a Celtic "Ceilidh" (pronounced K-lee) - a traditional Highlands-style gathering with music and storytelling.
The Toronto Fire Services Pipes & Drums and Toronto Emergency Medical Services Honour Guard escorted Heron and his party into the Canadiana ballroom with pomp and circumstance. Steve Paikin, TVO's host of "The Agenda", served as emcee. Congratulatory videos by Ontario Premier Daltom McGuinty, The Ontario Home Builder's Association (OHBA) and The Heron Group of Companies paid tribute to Heron's 40+ years of dedication and hard work in advancing the new-home-building industry in Canada and his tireless efforts to give back to the greater community.
Speakers included Karen Kinsley, President of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC); Alan Heron, President of Alan Heron Homes and OHBA President Mark Basciano. The Ceilidh was topped off with performances by popular tenor John McDermott and Bobby Watts, two of Canada's most-loved traditional Scottish/Canadian singers, and a special performance by "The Blues Brothers", OHBA members Rick Carvaggio and Pete Williams.
Over the years, Heron has served as President of the Greater Toronto Home Builder's Association (now BILD) and OHBA, chair of the Ontario New Home Warranty Program (now Tarion) and on the board of CMHC. He credited the generosity of his partners with allowing him to take time out from their business to fulfill his duties in these positions.
In true Hugh Heron fashion, he recounted his immigration to Canada and subsequent career with humour and reaffirmed his feelings about living here. "My involvement in these organizations has strengthened my love for Canada", he said. "I've worked with people from different nationalities, cultures and religions and when you think of the problems in other countries around the world, it's remarkable how well we get along. It's like family on a large scale - the same feeling we have at the Heron Group".
A donation from the evening's proceeds will be made to the Mikey Network - the non-profit charitable organization founded by Heron and his partners to honour their former partner, Mike Salem, who experienced sudden cardiac arrest and died on a golf course in 2002. The Network places public-access defibrillators called MIKEYS in high-risk locations in Ontario.
At the podium, Heron expressed his thanks and delight with the evening's success, and summed up the tribute with, "Not bad for a wee boy from Glasgow!".
News Release - 'New Dreamhomes & Condominiums', p.12
Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) Program Launched in Halton High Schools
The MIKEY Network Funds Entire Cost
February 20, 2008
Halton Region, in partnership with the Halton Catholic District School Board and the Halton District School Board, has launched a Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) program that will equip all high schools in Halton with an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) and have staff trained in cardiac emergency response techniques.
By the end of the current 2007-2008 school year, all of the seven catholic and 17 public high schools in Halton will have PAD programs in place. The implementation program will put Halton at the forefront of school-based PAD programming in Ontario.
The Mikey Network, a not-for-profit registered charity that places AEDs in community venues throughout Ontario, funded the entire cost of the 24 AEDs. Halton Region Emergency Medical Services (EMS) will deliver the training of staff at each high school, while the program receives medical direction from Dr. Joel Kirsh of the Labatt Family Heart Centre at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto.
Heathwood Homes and the Heron Group established the Mikey Network in memory of a friend and partner, Mike Salem, who died of cardiac arrest while golfing in Muskoka in the summer of 2002. In his name, AEDs are placed in as many public facilities as possible, so that the other cardiac arrest victims may have a second chance at life.
To date, the Mikey Network has raised $1 million and has committed 300 MIKEYS across the GTA.
News Release - 'New Dreamhomes & Condominiums', p.12
The Mikey Network Scores With Minor Hockey
January 23 , 2008
On Boxing Day 2006, 17-year-old Alex Corrance collapsed while playing hockey with his AAA team in Mississauga. The apparently healthy and athletic Alex suffered from a pre-existing and unknown cardiac condition. He was assisted by a group of onlookers including two fitness trainers, an RCMP officer and some off-duty firefighters and nurses. Even with the use of a defibrillator, Alex never regained consciousness and died that day.
His parents decided that making it possible for other victims of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) to have a chance for survival would be a fitting tribute to his memory. Through the Alex Corrance Memorial Fund and the fundraising efforts of Beyond the Next Level (a local fitness company), a public-access defibrillator (PAD) called a MIKEY has been installed at Joshua's Creek Arena, where Alex played hockey. An additional unit has also been given to the Town of Oakville.
SCA can happen to anyone at any age. Each year in Ontario, children and teens are among the more than 6,500 people who experience this problem. Access to a defibrillator can greatly increase a person's chance at living if it is used within the first critical moments following the incident. The units are about the size of a laptop computer and administer an electrical charge through two soft pads attached to a person's chest.
The Mikey Network was named for Mike Salem, a valued partner in Heathwood Homes and the Heron Group who experienced SCA on a golf course in 2002 and passed away. In 2003, The Mikey Network was born with the goals of inspiring heart-healthy living and placing MIKEY's in high risk locations. Mike's professional accomplishments were well respected in the industry, but the most poignant legacy he leaves is his personal warmth - and a second chance at life for people who experience SCA.
MIKEY's give SCA victims a fighting chance to survive. There is no way of knowing whether having a PAD available in 2002 would have saved Mike Salem's life. And although having a defibrillator on the scene didn't save Alex, his parents hope that anyone who experiences this same cardiac malfunction in the future will be revived through the use of the MIKEY that was placed there in his honour.
To date, The Mikey Network has raised $1 million and has committed 300 MIKEYs across the GTA.
